What We Do

An Africa where people benefit from nature & nature benefits from people.

Our Mission

Researchers at the PiNC Lab collaborate with partners to generate evidence, ideas and guidance that enables nature-based actions for local and planetary health. Our work supports solutions that are effective and equitable across scales, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

Nature can provide solutions to many of the world’s challenges, particularly those connected to a changing climate.

Our Approach

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are actions that leverage the power of nature and natural processes to address diverse societal and environmental issues.

These actions enable us to protect, restore and manage ecosystems, and to address challenges of food and water security, climate change, land degradation and biodiversity loss.

In Africa, where people are heavily connected to water and land for their livelihoods, nature-based solutions are crucial, but underfunded and underprioritised. This is a systemic problem across the world.

Our work aims to develop nature-based solutions that are financially viable, inclusive of communities and local knowledge, and effective in safeguarding livelihoods and sustainable futures.

Outcomes of Our Work

Improved quantification of ecosystem service benefits and outcomes, trade-offs, and synergies.
Increased and diverse evidence to leverage policy and investment change.
Strengthened design, planning, implementation, maintenance, monitoring and evaluation of NbS.

Increased awareness and understanding of effective and equitable NbS.
Increased number and capacity of African researchers working on NbS.
Increased number and capacity of people living and working in the field in Africa to support NbS.